Veterans of Edfringe will be familiar with how every inch of space in Edinburgh is turned into a performance place. Car parks, public toilets, buses- you name it, there’s been a show there during August. So traipsing up the stairs to a warm room filled with fold up chairs and wooden pews at The Comedy Pub felt happily like being right back at the fringe (with the bar prices to match…). The pub, a mere stone’s throw away from Piccadilly Circus, hosts a comedy night every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with each show featuring three or four acts, held together by a spritely and confident MC.

I have to be honest- having just seen some of the utter cream of the crop of the comedy circuit, I was a little sceptical as to how funny these guys would be. Having spied a huge crowd of rowdy blokes on a stag in the front row, and the pubs nightclub warming up on the ground floor, I strapped myself in for a night of amused tittering as opposed to raucous guffawing.

And don’t you just love it when you’re proved wrong?

The four chaps that stepped up to the mike were all EXCELLENT. First up was Tom Deacon, host of Radio 1’s Comedy Show, followed by David Morgan, fresh from his own Edfringe show, both providing wonderfully witty sets and proving themselves extremely likeable chaps in the process- Morgan even outrageously flirting with the rowdy stags to whoops of delight. Mike Manera, the club’s organiser, stepped up next to warm us up for the headlining act, Ian Stone who, with a slightly edgier set, was the perfect closer to the evening, now the crowd had been suitably watered and ached from the giggling. Gluing the whole shebang together was MC Paul Revill, bouncing around the stage like an excitable puppy, never letting the energy of the evening dip.

we maaaaay have got busted, taking our selfie.

At a tenner for a ticket, this comedy pic ‘n’ mix is an absolute bargain, and a brilliant way to spend a Saturday night (as long as you can cope with the eye-watering bar prices- £5.10 for a cider! I ASK YOU!). The entry fee also gets you in to the dancefloor downstairs, so if you feel like you need a bit of a wiggle to shake off the giggles you’re already all set. Thanks Piccadilly Comedy Club for not making me go comedy cold turkey post August!

Bloody Hell Brennan was a guest of Europe’s leading digital self-service ticketing solution, ticketscript. Working with fairs, gigs, festivals, exhibitions, cinema, sports and all other kinds of entertainment events ticketscript assist organisers of any size to grow their business and sell tickets online, via Facebook, mobile and on the door. All opinions, reviews and content (unless otherwise specified) are Bloody Hell Brennans’s own and are 100% honest.